Different views
Even if AT&T wants to make big changes concerning ExciteAtHome, it won't be easy. Though it controls 58 percent of the voting stock, AT&T's cable TV partners, Comcast and Cox Communications, can block Ma Bell from splitting up ExciteAtHome without their permission.
"Obviously, there's some political infighting and disagreement between AT&T and its cable partners," said Drake Johnstone of Davenport & Co.
AT&T officials have indicated they don't want to be in the business of providing content -- Excite is a major Web portal, featuring news, sports, weather and other information -- while Cox and Comcast prefer to use the combination of Excite and AtHome to reap even more revenue from their cable businesses.
How AOL fits in isn't entirely clear. The world's largest online service has been seeking ways to gain access to high-speed cable services to avert the chance that those systems will steal away customers. It would like access to AtHome's cable network.
AT&T, however, doesn't appear eager to give up its stake in AtHome. Analysts say it would prefer to sell off the Excite portion. Yet the Excite part of the business would cost AOL a hefty sum and not necessarily give it access to AtHome. A deal would be unlikely unless AOL was granted some form of preferential access to AtHome, analysts believe.
In any event, a top AT&T official threw cold water on such a scenario this week after the revival of the AOL-ExciteAtHome rumors. Leo Hindery, head of AT&T's cable and Internet unit, told Reuters that the company was not in discussions to sell its stake in high-speed Internet service provider or to strike a deal with AOL.
"Absolutely not," Hindery said. "There've been no discussions under way whatsoever. I typically don't comment on things of that sort, but when it's absurd I do."